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A Very Brief U.S. Political History
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Part 1. Building a Constitution

Part 2. Governing Our Capitalistic Democratic Federal National Republic

Part 1

1619 Representative Democracy& Slavery Begin
1636 Brings Freedom of Religion
1735 Zinger Trial Begins Freedom of the Press
1654 New Amsterdam Welcomes Immigrants
1786 Shays Tax Rebellion Leads to a Constitution
1803 Marshal Creates a Third Federal Power

Who Are We of We the people?

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#2 1619 Representative Democracy&Slavery Begin

The Jamestown colony had floundered until 1611 when tobacco was introduced to meet growing European demand.  Crops were worked by indentured servants who served for about seven years and then receives free frontier land.


Howard Pyle - The Burning of Jamestown.jpgfreedoms from both existing and new slaves. In 1662 a Virginia law made the child of an enslaved women and  white father a slave whereas they had been free.  Bacon's Rebellion of 1766 resulted when a number of poor landowning recently freed indentured servants and freed slaves were tired of paying taxes to faraway Jamestown. They also formed an army to solve Indian problems.  Issues between Bacon's army and Jamestown developed. Eventually about 1,000 rebels chased the Governor out of the capital. "Government forces from England arrived soon after and spent several years defeating pockets of resistance and reforming the colonial government to one more directly under royal control." from The Burning of Jamestown by Howard Pyle 1905. Click to enlarge and view a slide show. Click on Most Pictures to Enlarge

Slaves had once been more expensive but fear of rebellions by indentured servants added to the cost of hiring white and laves thus became a cheaper source of farm labor. Editor's Note: We have been building our Democracy for almost 400 years and still have a way to go. US criticizing today's fledgling democracy seems a bit hypercritical.

#3  Freedom of Religion Began in 1636 After Massachusetts Expelled Roger Williams

Roger Williams immigrated from England to Boston in 1631. He refused preaching/teacher work because as a Separatist he did not agree with Boston's less radical Puritans. He left for more Separatist oriented Salem caused Boston's Puritans unhappiness. He soon moved to Separatist Plymouth where he got along with the people and studied the Indians. Eventually he preached ideas too unconventional for Plymouth and by 1633 he was back in Salem. 



In 1836 he and his followers founded Providence where they signed a pact allowing government that could only deal with civil matters. Anne Hutchinson a Puritan spiritual advisor was also doing her best to upset Puritan Boston and she also ended up in Rhode Island. 



#4  All Immigrates Welcomed
By 1654 New Amsterdam



# 6  Freedom of the Press Began
with the 1735  Zenger Trial


He agreed that his client had published the material but he told  the jury they should acquit because true statements could not be libellee. The jury acquitted.


It would take decades to determine the exact legalities of freedom of the press and speech. President Adams would  pass Alien and Sedition Acts to stop an adversarial press. Only a few were  prosecuted though some were jailed. The law  was repealed under President Jefferson. Leaders of every following generation have had freedom of the press and speech issues during difficult periods. Click to enlarge.       

10. Shays' 1786 Tax Rebellion
Leads to a Constitution




Then a Militia Act allowed for the execution of militia who refused to follow orders. Soon the governor began to raised a privately financed state militia. This caused a severe reaction by farmer who saw a private army is the first step on the road to tyranny.  The farmers  raised their own army led by revolutionary war veteran and militia member Daniel Shay. Their main battle was to be a surprise attack at the federal Springfield arsenal. It didn't work out. The armory was unexpectedly defended by militia men and they killed four rebels who were quickly dispersed. They regrouped but the new Governor's privately financed army led by Benjamin Lincoln arrived and dispersed them with a surprise attack. That was it. Rebellion over. Eventually there was an amnesty based on signing of a loyalty oath. Twenty-one leaders were order hung but only two got the rope. The governor lost reelection and the new governor was more sympathetic to the farmers and he pardoned Shay and the other leaders.

The rebellion provided much substance for those In the Philadelphia Congress who feared rebellion and anarchy. They wanted a strong central government to control dissent and scheduled a May of 1887 Philadelphia Constitutional Convention.





Editors Note: Difficult economic times after the revolution caused by an almost worthless Continental Currency caused many farmers to want debt forgiveness. Their actions united Oligarchs to maintain economic stability.

Causes of Shay's Rebellion

Economic policy
Aggressive tax and debt collection
Political corruption and cronyism
This popular uprisings cause a fear of potential anarchy in those with the abilities to accumulate wealth. They represented a rule of law conservative constituency which called for the  Constitutional Convention.
Reform of state government, later its overthrow
Direct action to close courts; then military organization in an attempt to capture the U.S. arsenal at the Springfield Armory
Rebellion crushed, and problems of Federal authority linked to the weak Articles of Confederation spur U.S. Constitutional Convention

Similar unrest was happening  in the Carolinas where rural farmers known as Regulators were having a difficult go of it economically and again taxes were the problem. It was the beginning of the Tea  Party/Libertarian movement.

13. Marshal Creates a Third Separate Power 

Of all a President's powers, many feel the appointment of a Supreme Court justice is most important.

The Federalist lost power in 1800 and feared anarchy from the new administration. They decided to decrease the new President's power. Outgoing Federalist under President  Adams decides to control the federal judiciary. He appointed John Marshall as Supreme Court Chief Justice. Then the Federalist congress passed a law that decreased the number of justices from 7 to 5 and increased the number of Federal Judgeships. Adams dutifully appointed these new justices with the last group appointed the night he left office. These 42 appointments were  left signed and sealed but undelivered by Chief Justice Marshall. They became known as the  infamous "Midnight Judges"   Chief Justice Marshal felt signed and sealed meant appointed and the new administration had to mail the appointments.

Jefferson refused and issued 25 new appointments in their place. Marshal wanted his fellow justices to rule the 1801 Judiciary Act unconstitutional. The justices refused. Then William



Marbury, one of the 42 envelope appointees, sued for his job. He wanted the soon to be appointed be Secretary of State John Madison to send the mail.

In Marbury v. Madison the court ruled that Marbury had a right to the commission and that the law provided Marbury with the correct legal remedy. Nonetheless, the Court stopped short of ordering Madison (by writ of mandamus) to hand over Marbury's commission. Instead it held that the provision of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that enabled Marbury to bring his claim to the Supreme Court was itself unconstitutional since it purported to extend the Court's original jurisdiction beyond that established by Article III.

Over the years legal scholars have decided what Marshal did was a stretch at best but the deed was done. Voting for a President is almost always voting for a Supreme Court Justice or two and giving a direction for history toward a President's political philosophy. Madison felt adding to the court's power was more important than the short term political gain of his Federalist Party. The  concept of Judicial Review would spread throughout the world.



  See FDR Court-packing plan